Comet
The Comet tank or Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of World War II. It was designed as an improvement on the earlier Cromwell tank, mounting the new 77 mm High-Velocity gun in a new lower profile and part-cast turret. This gun was effective against late-war German tanks, including the Panther at medium range, and the Tiger. The tank was widely respected as one of the best British tanks of the war, and continued in service afterwards. The Comet, which was a development of the Cromwell, rendered the Challenger obsolete, and led to the development of the Centurion tank. When firing APDS rounds, the 77 mm HV was superior in armour penetration capability to the 75 mm KwK 42 gun of the equivalent Axis tank, the Panther (which did not use APDS ammunition). The Comet saw action in the closing stages of World War II and remained in British service until 1958. In some cases, Comets sold to other countries continued to operate into the 1980s. Overview The Cruiser Tank (A34) Comet was the pinnacle of British cruiser tank development, following on from the Cruiser Mk VIII (A27) Cromwell. With its powerful 600hp Rolls-Royce Meteor engine, the Comet retained the Cromwell's speed, but with improved armour protection. Its powerful 77mm gun was a match for all but the heaviest enemy tanks. Between the world wars, British tank doctrine was divided into two distinct roles: infantry tanks, those meant to help the infantry breakthrough enemy lines, and cruiser tanks that were designed to exploit gaps and cut deep into enemy territory. While the infantry tanks (or I-Tanks) were heavily armoured and slow, the cruisers relied on speed to protect them from enemy fire. Cruisers were tested in combat from the very beginning of the war, with A9 Cruiser Mk I and A10 Cruiser Mk II tanks in France, 1940. Shortcomings of these tanks were incorporated in the next generations of cruiser, such as the A13 Cruiser Mk IV and the Cruiser Mk VI ‘Crusader’. The Crusader tank achieved great fame in North Africa and underscored the value of having a light tank for exploiting and charging into enemy territory. However successful it was, the cruiser tank’s weaponry was still unable to tackle infantry and anti-tank guns due to a lack of high-explosive (HE) ammunition. In 1942, a new cruiser tank design emerged which would eventually become the A27 Cruiser Mk VIII ‘Cromwell’. This tank introduced a 75mm gun with HE capable of dealing with soft targets, thereby removing a vital weakness from the cruiser tank. The Cromwell entered battle in Normandy and was applauded for its powerful engine, which came in useful during the race across France and Belgium in 1944. One final problem with the cruiser tank remained to be solved: German armour protection. The enemy’s tanks, such as the Panther, were so well protected that they could not be knocked out from the front. It was believed that the speed of the cruiser would overcome this, but experience in Normandy and Holland proved otherwise. Stopgaps were designed, such as the 17 pdr-armed A30 Challenger and Firefly, but this once again brought back the problem of having no HE ammunition, so they were usually paired with Cromwells to restore the balance. In early 1944 the solution came together with the new A34 Cruiser ‘Comet’ tank design. This design fixed some of the problems reported by Cromwell crews, such as fixing track links, additional armour protection around the turret, and a heavier gun, while retaining the Cromwell’s speed, low profile, and high-explosive ammunition. The Comets went into combat for the first time during Operation Plunder, the 1945 British crossing of the Rhine, as a follow-up and breakthrough force. Once the gap was made by the infantry the Comets raced from river to river in Northern Germany, finally reaching the German autobahn in May. When the Comets hit the famous German motorway, they screamed across the countryside at full speed, stowage flying off the back decks and riflemen passengers clinging on for dear life. The division arrived at the Baltic in early May 1945, with nothing but the highest praise for the Britain’s finest battle tank. In Flames of War Recognizing that the Cromwell could do with a bigger gun, the British redesigned it as the Comet mounting the new 77mm gun, a cut-down 17-pounder anti-tank gun. This gives the Comet a good mix of anti-tank and anti-infantry capability. Only the 11th Armoured Division has managed to convert to the Comet, having their first attempt at conversion cut short by the German Ardennes Offensive. (from Armies of Late-War.Forces from 1944-45, pages 72-73) The Comet is rated as a Light Tank in V3 and as a Medium Tank in V4. It moves 16”/40cm at full noise, which means that getting into the enemy lines and defences is very quick. With proper use of terrain to block lines of fire from those German big guns, the tanks should be able to get there relatively unscathed as well. Once they are there, this is where the OQF 77mm gun becomes your best friend. With Semi-indirect Fire and AT14 you are almost guaranteed a kill against even the biggest of the big cats!'' '' Unit Organization Just like all the British tanks used in WW2, the Comet tanks were deployed in armoured squadrons (British equivalent of companies), composed of an HQ section and two, three or four combat troops (platoons) equipped with these tanks. The organization is reflected in the game on pages 72 and 73 of Armies of Late-War. Forces from 1944-45 published in 2017, which still uses the 1700-point game limit: * a single Comet tank costs 145 points; * a command section with two Comet tanks cost 290 points; * a three-tank combat platoon costs 435 points; * and a full-strength combat platoon with four Comet tanks costs 580 points. The HQ section might be supplemented with Cromwell CS tanks in the following configurations: * one Comet tank and one Cromwell CS tank for 220 points; * two Comet tanks with one Cromwell CS tank for 365 points; * two Comet tanks with two Cromwell CS tanks for 435 points. Model kits All the model kits for Flames of War were released in plastic. * OFBX08 Comet Tanks (two models) * BRAB08 Monty's Hounds (seven models with two tank commander sprues) * BBX30 Comet Platoon (five models with commander sprue and decal sheet) * TANKS09 Comet Tank Expansion (one model with unit cards) Model assembly The only available models are plastic ones. * Begin assembly by attaching the upper and lower hull sections. * Next, attach the tracks to the hull. (Unless you prefer to paint the tracks separately and attach them after painting.) Each track has keys to correspond with a particular side of the lower hull - two on the right and three on the left. This aids in ensuring the correct orientation of the tracks when assembling the miniature. * Now attach the rear hull plate and the front armour plate. * Glue the hull machine-gun into the rectangular slot in the front armour plate. Take extra care when clipping the machine-guns from the sprue, as they are quite fragile. You'll need two per tank, but there are three on the sprue so you will have a spare in case you break one. * Glue the upper and lower turret pieces together. * Attach the mantlet to the front of the turret and the storage bin to the rear. * The main gun has a semi-circular key to ensure correct orientation. Glue the gun barrel into the hole in the mantlet, taking care to ensure it is straight. * Glue the co-axial machine-gun into the rectangular slot to the right of the main gun. * Next, attach the searchlight. For correct placement, align the small tab on the searchlight with the notch on the left-hand side of the turret. Like the machine-guns, this piece is fairly fragile, so take care when clipping it from the sprue. * Attach a cupola. To show the tank 'buttoned up', use the closed-hatch piece. If you want to add a tank commander - either to mark the tank as a command vehicle, or perhaps just for some variety - use the open-hatch cuploa piece. Choose a figure from the tank commander sprue and glue him in place. Alternatively, you may prefer to paint the tank and commander separately first. * Finally, glue the turret peg into the hole in the bottom of your turret. It fits into the hole in the tank's turret ring (don't glue this!) allowing the turret to rotate to shoot at targets in any direction. * Included on the plastic sprue are two sections of spare track links, a fuel can and an ammunition case. These are optional but can help add some modelling variety to your miniatures. BBX30-02.jpg|The Comet parts with tank commander sprue and decal sheet included. TANKS09-03.png|The assembly step-by-step. Comet 2017.JPG|A Comet tank built by the author of this page in 2017. assembly p1.JPG|The bottom hull has been fitted with iron rims and unused closed hatch. assembly p2.JPG|The Comet tank being assembled. assembly p3.JPG|It is a good idea to paint the treads before assembly, as well as the entire hull and turret. assembly p4.JPG|The tank gaining its shape. assembly p5.JPG|Before the tidying up. assembly p6.JPG|The completely assembled and painted Comet, prior to applying decals. assembly p7.JPG|The completed Comet tank, marked as a vehicle from the 4th Troop of a Squadron B. Comets comparison.JPG|Two Comet tanks built from different batches. Painting The indigenous British tanks used in the later period of World War II were usually painted in a dark green colour. This scheme was commonly seen on Cromwell tanks and Comet tanks, as well as on Churchill tanks used by the units in North-Western Europe. During the 1944-45 winter, whitewash was applied to vehicles. Since the Normandy battles, the Allied white star in a roundel was a commonly used aerial recognition symbol - it was regularly seen on the engine grill plate, or on turret top. Suggested paints: * Games Workshop Castellan Green (base and overall colour) * Humbrol H86 enamel (base and overall colour) * any tone of steel grey (machineguns, threads and tools) * Games Workshop Golgfag Brown (the canvas covering the gun mantlet and wooden tool's parts) or a similar colour * Games Workshop Ceramite White (the reflector) or a similar colour Combat efficiency The Comet is indeed one of the finest British tanks of the war. It is faster across country and better armoured than any Allied medium tank, except the Sherman Jumbo. The Comet's new 77mm gun packs as much of a punch as Panther's KwK40 L/70 gun, while still firing a good high explosive round as well. As cruiser tanks, the Comet armoured squadrons have their own 95mm close-support howitzers in the squadron's headquarters. As the 95mm-armed version of the Comet hasn't arrived yet, they are relying on the older Cromwell CS variant. The Comet is an outstanding medium tank, being very fast, comparatively well armoured, and well armed. They are great at both sitting back and shooting at long range, and when closing rapidly for the kill. Suggested use The Semi-Indirect Fire special rule and good Anti-Tank value pretend the Comet tanks to fight the opponents from long distance, where the benefits of the special rule can be used. It is also suggested to keep the tank close to terrain obstacles, making the Comet difficult to be hit. The 2017 ''Armies of Late-War.Forces from 1944-45 ''book rates the Comet crews as Confident Veterans, making them suitable for using clever tactics, such as Blitz Move attempts. The Comets do benefit from infantry and/or artillery backup, especially when a smokescreen is provided to conceal their attack. Image gallery 510GCpCK1KL.jpg|Comets were originally sold in boxes with two tanks, without decals nor tank commander figurines. BBX30.jpg|The BBX30 box front. BBX30a.jpg|The BBX30 box rear. Monty Hounds.jpg|The only British starter set, which contained Comet tanks. TANKS09-01.jpg|TANKS09 Comet tank expansion. Comets in action 060619 (1).JPG Category:Tanks Category:Tank Teams Category:Armoured Tanks Category:Late-war Category:British Category:Formations Category:Support Category:Vehicles Category:Allied